The Brooklyn Killer Club
The Brooklyn Killer Club is a German detective film directed by Werner Jacobs in the fall of 1966 . The main roles are cast with George Nader , Heinz Weiss , Richard Münch , Helga Anders and Helmut Förnbacher . It is the fifth part of the Jerry Cotton film series from Constantin Film Distribution from the 1960s. The first color film in the series premiered on March 17, 1967 in the Ufa-Palast in Kassel .
action
New York banker Dyers throws a party to which FBI men Jerry Cotton and Phil Decker are invited. The multi-million dollar host informs the two officers of threatening letters he and his friends Mr. Johnson and Mr. Cormick have received. The unknown blackmailers are demanding one million US dollars each - if they fail to pay, the daughters or sons of the gentlemen would be kidnapped. In fact, armed gangsters appear at the celebration and ambush those present. Due to a misunderstanding, instead of Jean, Dyer's daughter, her friend Sally Chester is kidnapped. When the criminals notice their mistake, the young girl is murdered in cold blood. Although Decker and Cotton post the best men from the Kidnapping Department in front of Dyer's mansion, Dyer's daughter Jean also becomes a mysterious victim of the ruthless gang.
Millionaire Johnson is ordered to toss a million dollars out the window of the New York subway . When he complies, Cotton and Decker lose track of the blackmailers. A little later Mr. Cormick is also supposed to pay, but he has to borrow the money from Dyers. Cotton can catch two of the criminals when the money is handed over. They refuse to give any statement and are defended by the opaque lawyer Warner. Phil Decker and Edna Cormick are kidnapped by the gangsters.
Through a tip from the former burglar Sam, Cotton learns that the Salvation Army association chaired by Richard Nash is a gang of gangsters connected with the kidnappings and murders. Cotton finally fakes his own murder in order to free Edna and Phil and to expose the real man behind the crime organization. It's Bryan Dyers, who even murdered his own stepsister, Jean. But other, not yet suspects, are complicit in the fatal crimes.
History of origin
prehistory
After the Jerry Cotton film Die Invoice - served ice cold (director: Helmuth Ashley ), which was launched in August 1966 , the Constantin Film Distribution responsible in consultation with the production company Allianz Film decided to shoot the next part of the film series in color. Originally , Jürgen Roland was the director of the project, which initially had the working title Um das Leben meine Freund and was to appear in early 1967 . For the second time after Mordnacht in Manhattan (1965) Herbert Reinecker wrote a consistently exciting script for a Cotton film under his pseudonym Alex Berg , although this time it was much "harder" than the previous ones. The dialogues of the Reinecker script were revised by Manfred R. Köhler . Because Jürgen Roland was busy staging the adventure film Lotus Blossoms for Miss Quon , the planned collaboration did not materialize. The Constantin Film Distribution , which at the Jerry Cotton films had the last word, after all, was the experienced Contract Director Werner Jacobs enthusiastic about the project and made a more than satisfactory choice.
production
The shooting of The Brooklyn Murderer Club took place from November 14th to December 1966 in Hamburg . The studio recordings were made in the Hamburg studio in Hamburg-Tonndorf . Wilhelm Vierhaus was hired as the film architect . Because it was no longer possible to fall back on existing archive material in the color films, a small team shot recordings at the original locations in New York City , albeit without the participation of actors. As in the black and white films, the US General Post Office again represented the FBI headquarters in New York. Horst Schier was responsible for the special effects , including numerous rear projections . The fight scenes were arranged by Roy Scammel.
Filming locations in Hamburg included:
- BAT-Haus (also Burmah-Haus ) with underground car park, Esplanade , Hamburg-Neustadt : opening scenes
- Jenisch House , Hamburg-Othmarschen : Villa Dyers
- Finland House, Esplanade, Hamburg-Neustadt: high-rise with Cormick's office
A scene with railway operations was filmed on a bridge on the Solling Railway near Bodenfelde . Director Helmuth Ashley had already realized the opening scene in black and white for the film The Bill - served ice cold . However, it was not used in it.
Film music
The film music by Peter Thomas includes the following titles:
- My Friend Phil (theme music) 2:15
- Skyline Temptation 3:18
- Jerry Cotton March 3:16
- Super Man (lyrics: Kerry Hallam, vocals: Kerry & Kaye) 2:20
- Red Robin Bossa 1:50
Numerous other titles on the soundtrack have not yet appeared on recordings.
synchronization
Most of the German-speaking actors in the fully dubbed film can be heard in the film with their own voices. The famous voice actors and their roles were:
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Jerry Cotton | George Nader | Harald Leipnitz |
| Banker Dyers | Karl Stepanek | Curt Ackermann |
| Malbran | Daniel Dimitri | Horst Stark |
| Voice on the phone | Voiceover | Harry Wüstenhagen |
| teller | Voiceover | Horst Fleck |
reception
publication
The FSK released the film on March 10, 1967, from 16 years of age. On August 5, 2004, the age rating for DVD releases was downgraded to 12 years. The film, which premiered on March 17, 1967, followed on from the commercial success of its predecessor. At the same time as the cinema release, Bastei-Verlag published a special volume of the same name in the booklet series by an anonymous author. In the same year the filming of the sequel Dynamit in green silk began under the direction of Harald Reinl .
Due to the artistically and commercially convincing work of Werner Jacobs, the film distributor provided the director for another Jerry Cotton film, Death in the Red Jaguar (1968). Because Jacobs was still busy with the finalization of his film To Hell with the Timpani , the project went back to Reinl. This left The Brooklyn Murderers Club , apart from working on the Edgar Wallace film The Riddle of the Silver Triangle , the only crime film by Werner Jacobs.
criticism
"Sometimes an unlikely crime adventure with only external tension."
“The technical finesse is provided by the unfortunately far too little busy director Werner Jacobs, whom the cameraman Franz Lederle supports with all optical tricks. Everything in color that sets this film apart from its Cotton predecessors. "
“Werner Jacobs skilfully staged rich adventures, with a variety of resources, in interesting locations. Cotton is again George Nader, who largely secures sympathy. "
“New, effortlessly staged crime adventure that offers viewers who take the improbability into account, exciting entertainment. Conclusion: In addition to the many imported films in this genre, the Cotton series still looks acceptable. "
“With ridiculous rear-projection shots and shock shots of New York, one tries to show German viewers (abroad such a piece of work is probably not for sale anyway). The film was set in New York. If you are already spending money to make a film, you should at least try to spend enough so that the film can be shot on the spot. "
"Crime connoisseurs will not be amazed at the exposure of the man in the background, but tension and doubt remain until the furious conclusion."
media
DVD
- G-man Jerry Cotton. Collectors Edition 6 DVD box set , released by Kinowelt Home Entertainment 2004.
- The Brooklyn Killer Club , also released on June 23, 2006 by Kinowelt Home Entertainment.
Soundtrack
literature
- Joachim Kramp, Gerd Naumann (ed.): The Jerry Cotton Films. When Jerry Cotton came to Germany. Ibidem Verlag 2011. ISBN 3-8382-0213-9
Web links
- Murderers Club of Brooklyn in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Brooklyn Killer Club at filmportal.de
- The Brooklyn Killers Club Illustrated Film Courier # 174
Individual evidence
- ↑ 96 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 93 minutes for television playback (25 images / second), film length: 2637 meters
- ↑ Release certificate (PDF; 72 kB) from the FSK
- ↑ The Brooklyn Killer Club. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ The Brooklyn Killer Club . In: film-dienst , No. 13, March 29, 1967.
- ^ The Brooklyn Killer Club at filmportal.de